By Design: Fitting the Garage on a Narrow Lot

One of the major design challenges
faced by builders and architects
today, in development and infill projects
alike, is the building lot that's too
narrow to accept a house and garage
side by side. The most common solution
is a front-loaded garage design, in which
the garage projects forward from the
house, with a short driveway leading to
the street.
That has some definite practical
advantages. It does provide for easy
access by car, and it provides a large
amount of interior square footage for
the amount of exterior wall, reducing
unit costs. But there are drawbacks as
well. The garage-forward approach often
leads to a monotonous wall of garage
doors facing the street, with every house
set back